Detroit files for bankruptcy protection

5:01 PM,
Jul. 18, 2013

Written by

Nancy Kaffer, Stephen Henderson and Matt Helms, Detroit Free Press

The city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest city in U.S. history to do so.

State-appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr on Thursday asked a federal judge permission to place the city into Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

The filing would begin a 30- to 90-day period that will determine whether the city is eligible for Chapter 9 protection and define how many claimants might compete for the limited settlement resources that Detroit has to offer. The bankruptcy petition would seek protection from creditors and unions who are renegotiating $18.5 billion in ...